


Crisis

by ViperPilot (Trillian_Astra)



Series: All The World's A Stage [2]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-10
Updated: 2010-06-10
Packaged: 2017-10-10 01:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/93679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trillian_Astra/pseuds/ViperPilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Galactica</i> Kara wants answers about her double, and Sam takes her to Leoben for help - but he has misgivings about helping her.</p><p>(probably won't make sense unless you've read And All The Men And Women Merely Players)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crisis

After the death of the resistance fighter named Kara Thrace, Leoben sank into a depression. While he had been quiet before, choosing to be alone most of the time, now he refused to leave his quarters, or to speak with anyone who tried to talk to him.

Most people gave up fairly soon, but not Sam. Sam knew that there was something else, something bigger, going on here. He'd seen Leoben and Kara on Caprica, and he knew how close they had been. He also knew that the dead Kara was not the only woman by that name.

So Sam persisted, showing up at his door and bringing food, or ambrosia, or cigars... anything he could think of, really. Sometimes he was able to persuade Leoben to let him in.

One day, he was walking to Leoben's quarters when his Kara – the one from CIC – went up to him.

"Hey..."

"Hey, Kara," he said distractedly.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh? Oh. Going to check on Conoy, he's been pretty shaken up after what happened..." He let the sentence trail off, knowing that she would understand.

"Oh. Good, because I need to talk about that."

Sam looked around, checking that no-one was nearby, and said quietly, "Not here, Kara."

"Why not? That... girl, whatever she was... she looked like _me_, Sam. How is that possible? I'm not... I'm not one of _them_..."

"Not here," he hissed. "Someone might hear you. You want to get thrown out an airlock?"

She looked up at him. "Of course not... but I need _answers_, Sam."

"I understand. Come on, you can come with me. Maybe he'll talk to you."

They walked the rest of the way, and Sam rapped on the door. "Leoben? Open the door, I've got someone who wants to meet you."

All they heard was a muffled "Go away" through the door.

"Mr Conoy?" Kara said. "My name's Lieutenant Thrace, I'm a communications officer on this ship. I'd like to..." Before she could finish, the door flew open. Leoben stood on the other side, staring at Kara.

"Uh, Mr Conoy?" She asked. "Are you... all right?"

"What did you say your name was?"

"Kara Thrace, sir."

"Get inside," he growled. "Both of you."

They stepped inside, and as the door shut behind them he turned on Kara. "You cannot be Kara Thrace. I knew Kara. She's dead."

"I look like her, don't I? Exactly like her?"

"....yes."

"That's what I thought. I _am_ Kara Thrace. And I think... I think she was too. And that scares the frak out of me."

"You know what people are going to say, don't you? After those unfortunate incidents with that pilot... they'll think you're a cylon. A spy, or a saboteur. And you'll be dead too."

"But... I remember things... I had a childhood, I have a family... I can't be... be a _machine_..."

Leoben looked at her pityingly. "Maybe they gave you those memories."

"I'm not a cylon."

"Prove it."

Sam intervened, sensing that this was getting dangerous. "Hey, guys, come on. We don't need to do this. Leo, she just wants help. Answers."

Leoben went over to the chair in the corner of the room and sat down. With a sigh, he said, "She isn't interested in answers. She wants confirmation of what she's already decided."

Kara raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were a pyramid player."

"I was."

"So why'd you talk like that? Bit philosophical...."

"Making a living as an athlete does not make me stupid, Lieutenant.

"Um. No. 'Course not."

"If you really do want help, like Sam here seems to think... there's only one thing I can really tell you..."

"What?"

"...get out of the stream. You're caught up in events... you affect them, they affect you. You need to step back. Step out of the stream, away from the tangle of events. Watch the river flow for a time."

Kara just looked at him. "That's it? Your big advice to me is to see the bigger picture? I thought you could help me! Thanks for nothing." She looked at Sam. "I'll see you around, 'kay?"

"Don't do anything stupid," he told her as she stormed out, slamming the door behind her."

Sam looked at Leoben. "That wasn't fair."

"She isn't serious. If she really wants my help, I'll help... but she has to be serious. You should talk to her. She trusts _you_."

"I will. Look after yourself, yeah?"

Leoben merely shrugged in reply, and Sam let himself out, then went to catch up with Kara.

Alone in his dimly-lit room, Leoben sat and thought about Lieutenant Thrace. He wondered what she was... and how likely it was that she'd turn out not to be a cylon.

"Sam's right," a low, female voice murmured in his ear. He didn't need to turn around, but did anyway. Leaning against the back of his chair was Kara – his Kara, his lost Kara from Caprica – wearing an outfit that he remembered her wearing back at the training camp.

She continued, "You need to look after yourself, Leoben. A weak prophet is no good to anyone. A prophet who hasn't changed his shirt for a week or eaten a proper meal is not what we need."

"I'm sorry," he said. I'm still getting used to... to this."

Kara smiled, and moved around the chair so that she was facing him. "I know. It's hard for you. But you need to be strong," she said as she leant down and kissed him.


End file.
